What's taking so long to restore power

[manning]

in the new york area? Or is it just perception? Those people have to be suffering.

You hear the Red Cross mentioned a lot. Don't forget the Salvation Army too.

 

[Planogirl]

It seems slow to me too. A lot of crews have headed up there which I hope helps. It must be the scope of the damage.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

NW NJ here. They're doing the best they can but there's only so much they can do with the amount of people that were affected. My children's elementary school just had power restored yesterday! They were running generators this whole time. If there was any easy way to get that school up running sooner I am sure they would have. There were so many trees down and so many poles broken that they ran out of poles and had to wait for more to be brought in.

 

[dismichelle]

I think part of it is just perception.

I lived at least 2.5 hours north of the MS Gulf Coast when Katrina hit and was still without power for 2 weeks.

The only thing that got me through it was knowing that there were thousands of people directly on the coast that were much worse off than me, so I really tried not to complain about it and just tried to figure out what I could do to help others less fortunate than myself.

 

[clm10308]

It is slow, but with that kind of damage you could be talking about replacing polls and transformers not to mention substation repairs.
There is probably also a priority system where the areas that can be repaired most quickly are delt with first and areas that impact a larger amount of people are delt with first over smaller areas.

When Hurricane Ike hit Houston a few years ago, I personally know of people who were without power for 2 and 1/2 weeks. Due to the poll s that broke, most of my neighborhood was without power only about 12 hours, but one small section of 5-6 houses (of course the street whe I lived) did not get power back for 7 days, and it would have been much longer except that a power company employee lived across the street and he personally rerouted our power. Otherwise we were scheduled to be out of power for 4 weeks.

 

[sadiras]

Long Island here. We've received lots of help from crews from all over the country. Many thanks. These guys are working 16 hour days and are more capable than our own power company (Long Island Power Authority). It's our own fault for not being prepared for this emergency. Out of state crews have helped us above and beyond what they were hired to do. Still many people in distress and FEMA is doing very little to help.

 

[a1tinkfans]

LI here too. I got my phone/internet/tv TODAY ...
power to my home was restored on Thursday....
Despite ALL the media hype/updates about the storm, IMHO, LIPA was ILL prepared. They allegedly requested just 700 additional "helpers" from out of state, they actually needed (and got ) nearly 10,000.
So many are still without power...the food is not even in the stores by me...they are "just" getting in fresh meat late this past week, gas has been a bad situation as well. The lines (I waited 3 1/3 hours) last week was crazy...(the "real issue" was that the gas was not "winter grade" and the alleged impact to the environment was More important than getting gas to people that needed it for their generators/cars,) if they were even lucky enough to get/have one). My generator was shipped from Ca faster than I could get locally.... The rationing that started this am seems to have alleviated much of that situation, thankfully.
I really think that the entire handling of the storm was "fair" at best.
LIPA is on the radar for Gov Cuomo now....watch out LIPA

 

[arminnie]

Good luck! A friend of mine in mid-city New Orleans (about 5 miles from the quarter) did not get power back until May. (Katrina was in August)

She was elderly and on oxygen so could not live there for almost 9 months.

 

[RadioNate]

I think it is perception and that you are hearing about it more. Extensive damage to the whole infrastructure. This is an area with mature trees and overhead power lines. They are having to re-do everything. Transformers, substations, neighborhood lines, lines to individual home. HUGE job.

We were 2 weeks+ w/out power in Memphis after the mid-south derecho of 2003 I've mentioned. We were more inland for the hurricanes in FL but it still took a few days. The coastal areas took weeks.

It is just a LONG process.

 

[EMom]

Hurricane Ike left us without power for two weeks. Others had no power for an even longer period of time. Every day, getting ANY gas and even one bag of ice was a major accomplishment. Good thing I knew how to string a clothesline from my childhood days.

 

[Poohforyou]

I'm in Nj & have pse&g. They've done a much better job than jcp&l to restore. Jcp&l have cut corners over the last few years & a lot of it's infrastructure was in poor condition. Lots of lines need to be completely replaced. We're about 50 miles from the coast & some people still are without power. At least no one here lost their home.

 

[Laura66]

I'm in Ohio and we still had people without power from Sandy yesterday!

 

[Southernmiss]

I think part of it is just perception.

I lived at least 2.5 hours north of the MS Gulf Coast when Katrina hit and was still without power for 2 weeks.

The only thing that got me through it was knowing that there were thousands of people directly on the coast that were much worse off than me, so I really tried not to complain about it and just tried to figure out what I could do to help others less fortunate than myself.

I think this is true. Live 10 miles from the water on the MS Gulf Coast in a new neighborhood with underground power lines. We also live right outside an elementary school. The school became a hub for police and fire and emergency personnel after Katrina (their facilities were washed away). This allowed them a place to sleep and rest with air conditioning.

I am almost guilty to say that we got power back within 3 days. Many others went weeks without power. But because of our location near the school on the same grid and with underground power lines, we were very fortunate.

Many people 100, 200 and 300 miles inland were without power for much longer than us.

It was very difficult to shop for Christmas or anything the remainder of that year. As the shelves of the stores were bare for a long time because of demand and the broken infrastructure to get goods to us. I had to do a lot of online shopping for months after the storm.

 

[Distinkt]

I live in a state that has had loss of power from both tornado damage, and ice storms, and we have experienced both. I have some experience with the NY/NJ area as well because my husband and I did have an apartment in NJ for a while while he worked in that area recently. We were discussing the protests and complaints from the damaged areas this morning. Quite frankly, I was shocked that people there were so surprised that it has taken so long to get power back. Here in the mid-west it took weeks after an ice storm for people to get power back, and while we were all frustrated no one complained that our utility companies were slacking or ill prepared. It literally took more than a year for the highway departments to clear the downed trees lining the interstates around here, and all those trees brought down power lines. They worked night and day, of course with the influx of crews from out of state to get our power on. Maybe the whole issue is worse in NY because no one has had much experience with these types of issues, and because there is such a great population saturation and the expectation of what is possible is just too great for some there. How in the world could you prepare for something of the magnitude of Sandy? It was a historical storm, and not the average, but rather a worst case scenario. When we have bad weather here, even without a tornado, straight line winds can cause large scale power outages, but I think we all just weather the problems. It just seems that the area Sandy hit has impossible expectations. I know the crews are working hard to get power on and that so many people are heartbroken and weary, but blaming people isn't going to make power happen more rapidly. Honestly, I thought it was a little cheeky to complain when there are a lot of crews who have left their own homes to volunteer for rescue efforts.

I know from experience how difficult it is to have all of the issues that a natural disaster brings. Its tiresome, and confusing, and so so disruptive, and I hope and pray that the families affected are soon able to get back to some normalcy, but blame isn't going to solve the current problems.

 

[Poohforyou]

Tust me, no one is blaming the crews. All of heard is heartfelt thanks for their hardwork, especially the out of town crews. The frustration is with certain power company management. Jcp&l let equipment go into disservice before the storm & now they aren't managing crew efficiently. There have been multiple 1st hand reports of crews waiting hours for assignments.

And sorry, maybe it's an east coast thing, but waiting 2 weeks or more for power to be restored is frustrating and unacceptable.

 

[sadiras]

I live in a state that has had loss of power from both tornado damage, and ice storms, and we have experienced both. I have some experience with the NY/NJ area as well because my husband and I did have an apartment in NJ for a while while he worked in that area recently. We were discussing the protests and complaints from the damaged areas this morning. Quite frankly, I was shocked that people there were so surprised that it has taken so long to get power back. Here in the mid-west it took weeks after an ice storm for people to get power back, and while we were all frustrated no one complained that our utility companies were slacking or ill prepared. It literally took more than a year for the highway departments to clear the downed trees lining the interstates around here, and all those trees brought down power lines. They worked night and day, of course with the influx of crews from out of state to get our power on. Maybe the whole issue is worse in NY because no one has had much experience with these types of issues, and because there is such a great population saturation and the expectation of what is possible is just too great for some there. How in the world could you prepare for something of the magnitude of Sandy? It was a historical storm, and not the average, but rather a worst case scenario. When we have bad weather here, even without a tornado, straight line winds can cause large scale power outages, but I think we all just weather the problems. It just seems that the area Sandy hit has impossible expectations. I know the crews are working hard to get power on and that so many people are heartbroken and weary, but blaming people isn't going to make power happen more rapidly. Honestly, I thought it was a little cheeky to complain when there are a lot of crews who have left their own homes to volunteer for rescue efforts.

I know from experience how difficult it is to have all of the issues that a natural disaster brings. Its tiresome, and confusing, and so so disruptive, and I hope and pray that the families affected are soon able to get back to some normalcy, but blame isn't going to solve the current problems.

Perhaps in the midwest, in tornado alley, you are allowed to stockpile the gas necessary to run your generators in case of these emergencies. Here on Long Island, we don't have that luxury. If we could, believe me, we would. Don't call us "cheeky". We can deal with what is handed to us. 9/11 is a perfect example. The population of LI is probably larger than half of your state.

Our concern is for the safety of the people on LI that need help. We're not looking for "something for nothing". We have thick skin, but some of need help.

 

[SaraJayne]

I live in a state that has had loss of power from both tornado damage, and ice storms, and we have experienced both. I have some experience with the NY/NJ area as well because my husband and I did have an apartment in NJ for a while while he worked in that area recently. We were discussing the protests and complaints from the damaged areas this morning. Quite frankly, I was shocked that people there were so surprised that it has taken so long to get power back. Here in the mid-west it took weeks after an ice storm for people to get power back, and while we were all frustrated no one complained that our utility companies were slacking or ill prepared. It literally took more than a year for the highway departments to clear the downed trees lining the interstates around here, and all those trees brought down power lines. They worked night and day, of course with the influx of crews from out of state to get our power on. Maybe the whole issue is worse in NY because no one has had much experience with these types of issues, and because there is such a great population saturation and the expectation of what is possible is just too great for some there. How in the world could you prepare for something of the magnitude of Sandy? It was a historical storm, and not the average, but rather a worst case scenario. When we have bad weather here, even without a tornado, straight line winds can cause large scale power outages, but I think we all just weather the problems. It just seems that the area Sandy hit has impossible expectations. I know the crews are working hard to get power on and that so many people are heartbroken and weary, but blaming people isn't going to make power happen more rapidly. Honestly, I thought it was a little cheeky to complain when there are a lot of crews who have left their own homes to volunteer for rescue efforts.

I know from experience how difficult it is to have all of the issues that a natural disaster brings. Its tiresome, and confusing, and so so disruptive, and I hope and pray that the families affected are soon able to get back to some normalcy, but blame isn't going to solve the current problems.

Those crews/linemen are working their tails off to get power back on as fast as possible. There are only so many men and so many hours in a day.

 

[RadioNate]

Tust me, no one is blaming the crews. All of heard is heartfelt thanks for their hardwork, especially the out of town crews. The frustration is with certain power company management. Jcp&l let equipment go into disservice before the storm & now they aren't managing crew efficiently. There have been multiple 1st hand reports of crews waiting hours for assignments.

And sorry, maybe it's an east coast thing, but waiting 2 weeks or more for power to be restored is frustrating and unacceptable.

Isn't it frustrating any time it happens ANYWHERE? Maybe I'm misunderstanding but isn't it "unacceptable" when anyone is w/out power for weeks?

Acceptable or not sometimes it is just the way it is. WHERE it is doesn't really make a difference. You can only fix power lines so quickly. Just because NY/NJ hasn't experienced it before doesn't mean it isn't common when devastating storms like this happen in other parts of the country.

I'm sure crews are working as quickly as possible.

 

[Distinkt]

Well, I do think it might be an east coast thing because people tend to be a little less laid back than where I am residing, but I just know from experience how long it can take to get things repaired and back to normal. And its horrible because we have become so dependent upon power, but also because without power you probably can't communicate and its so hard not knowing what is happening or how to proceed. I just know that I had a family member that worked for a power company, and when these emergencies occurred he would only stop to catch a few hours sleep and then be back on the lines. It just takes so much time to repair such a massive outage. It doesn't make it any less disheartening for residents, and I understand their frustration.

 

[Poohforyou]

Isn't it frustrating any time it happens ANYWHERE? Maybe I'm misunderstanding but isn't it "unacceptable" when anyone is w/out power for weeks?

Acceptable or not sometimes it is just the way it is. WHERE it is doesn't really make a difference. You can only fix power lines so quickly. Just because NY/NJ hasn't experienced it before doesn't mean it isn't common when devastating storms like this happen in other parts of the country.

I'm sure crews are working as quickly as possible.

Sorry, I was responding to distinkt's post about our being "cheeky" about the power issue and how the Midwest just lets these things roll off their backs. As I said in previous posts, no one is blaming the crews. They are doing amazing work. The issue is with the power companies not maintaining lines & equipment like they should have and not assigning work crews as efficiently as they could.